Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies — 2–4 ft tall, blooming from Jun to Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Alabama · Zones 7–9
Native Plants for Bees in Alabama
The native flowers that feed honey bees, bumblebees, and the hundreds of solitary native bees most gardeners never notice. Alabama sits in a landscape of Gulf Coastal Plain & Cumberland Plateau, and the natives that thrive here are the ones built for its hot, humid subtropical character. The list below — led by Purple Coneflower and Cup Plant — is filtered to species genuinely native to Alabama and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 7–9. Most of our native bees are solitary and unfussy, but they depend on a steady supply of pollen-rich, single (not double) flowers. Open daisy and umbel shapes are easiest for short-tongued bees, while tubular flowers reward the long-tongued bumblebees. Skip pesticides entirely and leave some bare, undisturbed ground and pithy stems where ground- and stem-nesting bees raise their young.
The plants
50 native species for Alabama
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 7–9 · see this collection in other states.
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies, yellow flowers and flowering from Jul to Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–8 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Dense Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, hardy in zones 3–9 and flowering in Jul and Aug.
- Full sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
One the bees find first — feeds native bees and butterflies; cold-hardy to zone 3, it blooms Jun through Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms Jun–Sep
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata
One the bees find first — feeds native bees — white, red berries flowers, blooming in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Foxglove Beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees; for clay, rocky, and loam ground, it flowers in May and Jun.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees, happy in loam soil and flowering from May to Jul.
- Part shade
- Average
- 4–8 ft
- Blooms May–Jul
Wild Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees; red & yellow flowers, it blooms Apr through Jun.
- Part shade
- Dry–average
- 1–2.5 ft
- Blooms Apr–Jun
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees and butterflies; happy in loam soil, it flowers in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Aromatic Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies; for sand, clay, rocky, and loam ground, it blooms Sep through Nov.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Nov
Scarlet Beebalm
Monarda didyma
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies — reaching 2.5–4 ft, blooming in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2.5–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Wild Bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and butterflies, 1.5–2 ft wide and flowering from Jun to Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
One the bees find first — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies; spreading 4–8 ft, it blooms Jun through Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — reaching 3–5 ft, blooming in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–5 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies — vivid orange flowers, blooming from Jun to Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 1.5–2.5 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies; good through zone 8, it flowers in May and Jun.
- Sun to shade
- Average–wet
- 6–10 ft
- Blooms May–Jun
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies — happy in clay and loam soil, blooming in Jul and Aug.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 3–4 ft
- Blooms Jul–Aug
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees — good through zone 8, blooming from Jul to Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jul–Sep
Obedient Plant
Physostegia virginiana
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies; reaching 2–4 ft, it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
Woodland Phlox
Phlox divaricata
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies — reaching 10–15 in, blooming in Apr and May.
- Part shade
- Average
- 10–15 in
- Blooms Apr–May
Showy Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; spreading 1.5–2 ft, it flowers in Sep and Oct.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 2–4 ft
- Blooms Sep–Oct
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees — hardy in zones 6–10, blooming in Jun and Jul.
- Full–part sun
- Dry–average
- 4–7 ft
- Blooms Jun–Jul
Serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees and butterflies; white spring lace flowers, it flowers in Apr and May.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 15–25 ft
- Blooms Apr–May
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies; 2–3 ft tall, it flowers in Aug and Sep.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 2–3 ft
- Blooms Aug–Sep
26 more also qualify: Crossvine, Wild Geranium, Culver's Root, Smooth Hydrangea, Foamflower, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Wild Bleeding Heart, Short-Toothed Mountain Mint, Common Yarrow, Eastern Redbud, Prairie Blazing Star, Golden Alexanders, Virginia Bluebells, Stiff Goldenrod, Creeping Phlox, Blue Vervain, Wild Lupine, Spicebush, Inkberry Holly, Common Boneset, Fragrant Sumac, Ninebark, Common Milkweed, Rattlesnake Master, American Elderberry, New Jersey Tea.
Sourcing
Where to find these in Alabama
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.